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Is This the End of the Family-Owned Machine Shop?

Is This the End of the Family-Owned Machine Shop?

Update: 2025-09-26

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The family-owned machine shop — once the backbone of American manufacturing — is disappearing. Private equity is rolling up independents, succession is drying up, and the cost of staying competitive is through the roof. In this episode, I dig into how small, family-run shops evolved over the decades, the metrics driving consolidation, and why investors are buying us up. Is this truly the end of the family-owned shop… or just the next evolution?

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Is This the End of the Family-Owned Machine Shop?

Is This the End of the Family-Owned Machine Shop?

Jim Carr